MORNING MESSAGE
Why Sanders’ Economic Plan Is Best For The 99 Percent
The Democratic presidential campaign – unlike the Republican circus – has actually produced a debate in which each candidate’s economic agenda has gotten better and more populist. But as you can see at CandidateScorecard.net, there are also big differences ... Clinton’s reluctance to raise taxes on corporations limits her ambitions on public investment ... Clinton is attacking Sanders’ Medicare For All proposal because she says it will raise taxes on the middle class. What she doesn’t say is that the Sanders plan would allow Americans to stop paying health insurance premiums ... Under the Sanders plan, full-time minimum wage workers would receive an additional $6,240 more per year than under Clinton’s proposal...
SANDERS BRINGS BANK FIGHT TO NYC TODAY
Sanders to give tough Wall Street reform speech in NYC today. W. Post:“Sanders will announce plans to direct the secretary of the Treasury within the first 100 days of his administration to establish a ‘Too-Big-To-Fail’ list of ‘commercial banks, shadow banks, and insurance companies whose failure would pose a catastrophic risk to the United States economy without a taxpayer bailout.’ Within a year, Sanders will promise, his administration will break up those institutions ‘so that they no longer pose a grave threat to the economy,’ using authority granted by the Dodd-Frank Act.”
Sanders slams Trump on climate change. W. Post quotes:“The entire scientific community has concluded that climate change is real and causing major problems and Trump believes that it’s a hoax created by the Chinese. Surprised it wasn’t the Mexicans.”
BIG BIZ BACKS TPP
Corporate lobbies rally behind TPP. The Hill:“The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) gave President Obama’s trade agenda a boost on Monday when it endorsed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), likely setting the stage for endorsements from other major groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable (BRT) … Without the groups’ support, the TPP would have little chance of passing.”
Manufacturing sector shrinks. Reuters:“Manufacturing in the United States contracted further in December, and construction spending fell in November for the first time in nearly a year and a half … [The data] prompted economists to sharply lower their growth estimates for the fourth quarter … The Institute for Supply Management in the United States said its index of national factory activity fell to 48.2 from 48.6 in November and is now at its lowest level since June 2009. While a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing, the index remains above 43.1, which is associated with a recession.”
CUOMO STEPS UP WAGE PUSH
Gov. Andrew Cuomo raises minimum wage for university workers. NYT:“He [previously] used a state wage board to increase hourly pay to $15 for fast-food workers last summer and unveiled a similar plan for an estimated 10,000 state workers in November. The university plan will affect a larger number of state employees — about 28,000, according to estimates from the governor’s office — and is designed to include students who use work-study jobs to pay tuition and bills while attending classes.”
Gov. Cuomo’s wage push scrambles alliances. Politico:“…Cuomo is forging ahead with a plan to combat income inequality that lets him preserve his credentials as a business-friendly centrist: push to raise the minimum wage, and hope it drowns out any talk of raising taxes on the rich … several sources in the business community acknowledge privately that they’re fighting a losing effort [on the minimum wage] … left-wing groups who have been so leery of Cuomo will now be speaking up in his favor as part of a $3 million campaign to win support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.”
Liberal city councilors join forces. W. Post:“Local Progress has in recent years created a policy feedback loop that’s accelerated the spread of new laws in municipalities across the country. In the absence of federal action on many issues, it’s trying to make local government into something that doesn’t just pick up the trash — but solves some of society’s biggest problems as well.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Obama launches gun control push today. The Hill:“Obama on Tuesday will issue executive actions intended to curb gun violence by expanding background checks on people buying firearms online or at gun shows … Gun control has divided Democrats in the past, and Obama barely touched the issue in his first term … [Now] the party believes Obama’s actions will help it send the political message that Republicans are blocking common-sense reforms…”
Ben Ho makes “The Conservative Case for Solar Subsidies” in NYT oped:“Solar, long viewed through the lens of crony capitalism, has shown the ability to inject real market competition in energy distribution, one of the last monopolies in the energy sector, while improving the efficiency of the grid and putting more dollars in the pockets of middle-class Americans.”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast is a project of the Campaign for America's Future.more »
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